Giants-Ravens look back: Highlights, lowlights from the social media timeline

The New York Giants were blown out at home, 35-14, by Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. This is the eighth straight loss for Brian Daboll and the Giants, and New York has not won a home game since last January. Fans continue to petition ownership for drastic changes:

As a kid, I remember my father telling me about the humiliating nature of the 1970s Giants before the arrival of George Young. New York won four collective games in two seasons (1973-74). The Giants won 19 games in the next four seasons until Young arrived in 1979. He was previously with the uber-successful Miami Dolphins.

This isn’t the first time banners waved through the sky, begging for ownership to find a solution. Giants fans were fed up with the losing and flew a plane over the stadium after Herm Edwards’ Miracle at the Meadowlands loss against the Eagles. Afterward, a banner crossing the sky had a message inscribed:

“15 Years of Lousy Football. … We’ve Had Enough”

Wellington Mara heard the message and hired Young but retained coach Ray Perkins for another two seasons before promoting defensive coordinator Bill Parcells to head coach. The rest is history.

Wellington Mara’s son, John, is faced with a similar predicament. Ed Valentine has made the case for and against firing this regime. I believe a fresh start is needed. However, ownership has expressed a reluctance to change and a reliance on patience. I never thought it would reach Joe Judge levels of pain, but here the Giants are, 2-12, no home wins, and a disposition that would make Edgar Allen Poe seem optimistic.

The only current aspect of the New York Giants that is “Number 1” is their 2025 first-round pick, but should Schoen and Daboll be tasked to make that decision? How does desperation factor into that decision-making process? If it’s not the current regime, is quarterback one overall a requirement?

These are all fun questions we’ll ponder over the next few weeks and through the 2025 NFL Draft. But for this post, let’s focus on some throws from the one and only TB-12:

Veteran journeyman Tim Boyle entered the game in the second half after a Tommy DeVito concussion. Boyle was undrafted in 2018 out of Eastern Kentucky. The Giants are his seventh stop in the NFL. Boyle saw playing time with the Miami Dolphins after Tua Tagovailoa’s injury earlier in the season.

I’m not too fond of this observation, but Boyle made throws with anticipation. Throws that were absent for much of this miserable season. It’s more of a referendum on the Giants’ quarterback room than anything else, but Boyle finished 12 of 24 for 123 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He only had a 5.1 yards per attempt average. Boyle understood the assignment: Get the football to Malik Nabers!

I have no issue with hyper-focusing on Nabers, down by 21. Nabers was upset late in the fourth quarter when he was wide open on a fourth-and-4 dig route that ended up incomplete to Wan’Dale Robinson with a defensive penalty:

No. 1, top of screen

Nabers threw his hands in the air in frustration. This was a good call by Daboll against 1-hole, and Nabers did a fantastic job working into the corner’s blind spot to create space inside. Daniel Bellinger’s in-route opened up space for Nabers as well, but Boyle threw it to Robinson. On the very next play, Boyle did this:

The Giants ran a play-action roll against this Tampa-2 Robber defense, and Boyle saw the split-safety look; he pulled the trigger to Nabers, and the ball was underthrown with three Ravens in the area, resulting in an interception. I have no issue with Boyle pulling the trigger to Nabers, given the context of the game late in the fourth quarter, but Baltimore played it well, and the throw was sub-par.

As for Nabers, he finished with 10 catches on 14 targets for 82 yards and a score. Here’s his touchdown from Boyle:

This is Nabers’ first touchdown since Week 3 in a victory over Cleveland, where the rookie secured two touchdown catches from Daniel Jones. Nabers’ ability to set his routes up, combined with his explosive athletic traits, allows him to uncover against quality opponents successfully.

He possibly has the worst quarterback situation in the league and may still break Odell Beckham Jr.’s rookie reception mark. Nabers has 90 catches for 901 yards with four scores; Beckham had 91 catches for 1,305 yards with 12 touchdowns in 2014. Nabers doesn’t have the beef to his numbers, but two catches in the next three games will secure him the rookie receptions record for the New York Giants.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. saw his lowest snap share in three weeks — still 68%. However, Devin Singletary played more in (somewhat) neutral game scripts. Tracy Jr. had another bad drop in the flat, and he’s made several mistakes over the latter half of the season. Still, he’s a true asset and difference-maker when he is on the field. Here’s a nice 12-yard rush by the rookie:

And here’s an exceptional blitz pickup by Tracy Jr. on a 14-yard completion to Nabers.

Nabers displayed beautiful work along the sideline to secure this pass from Tommy DeVito. One more offensive play to show and it’s the fourth-and-2 conversion to Robinson:

Defense

The Giants’ defense was torched by Lamar Jackson, who threw for 290 yards and five touchdowns, finishing 21 of 25 passing. Chunk play after chunk play became exhausting to watch as the Ravens exploited the coverage vulnerabilities. Condensed formations put curl/flat defenders into conflict with the Giants in Cover-3, and corner-breaking routes against safeties were vulnerable in quarters. Here are some Ravens’ highlights from the game:

Andrews also had a step on the last play as the Giants blitzed, and no one was around Justice Hill. Bowen was attempting to throw change-ups at the Ravens in the second half, but Baltimore is a far better and deeper program than the Giants.

Brian Burns did earn a second-down sack on the play before Mark Andrews’ touchdown:

The refs missed a false start — it could have changed the entire game! Burns saw Stanley move and perhaps anticipated the successful inside swim since the false start was an aggressive outward action. Another player with a few flash plays on defense was defensive lineman Elijah Garcia.

Garcia and players like Cory Durden, Casey Rogers, Patrick Johnson, and Art Green can showcase their talents to earn an initial shot on a team’s practice squad or the back end of a roster next season. Garcia made a few plays last week, and should have the opportunity over the next three games to make a name for himself.